Villars earmark P3B for more AllHome stores

THE GROUP of former Senator Manuel B. Villar will spend “close to P3 billion” to put up six more AllHome stores this year.

At the sidelines of the opening of the new AllHome Daang Hari branch within the vast Vista City development on Saturday, Villar said three more stores would be opened in the next three to four months in Santa Rosa City in Laguna, Imus in Cavite and Las Piñas City.

Later in the year, two more branches, including one in Antipolo, are slated for opening, said Villar, chair of All Value Holdings Corp. and Vista Land and Landscapes Inc.

The six stores to be launched in 2014 will double to 12 the number of AllHome outlets by the end of the year. AllHomes currently has two branches in Muntinlupa City, as well as one branch each in San Fernando City in Pampanga, San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, Taguig City, and Talisay City in Cebu.
About P300 million to P400 million for each of the six new branches had been earmarked as capital expenditure, Villar said.

Inventory, meanwhile, would cost a minimum of P200 million per branch, he added.

According to Villar, the outlets scheduled to be opened this year would be bigger than the first six stores, with an average floor area of 7,000-9,000 square meters.

The new sites would also be “expandable” as they are aimed to accommodate a Starmall, Villar said. Starmall is the branding of the Villar group’s shopping mall venture.

Villar said sales at the first six outlets had been “very encouraging,” hence they would go “full blast” in terms of expansion in the next two years.

“We plan to again open six more stores next year, perhaps six every year,” he said.
Villar attributed AllHome’s encouraging sales thus far to the real estate boom. “Since there are a lot of housing and condominium developments, there’s a strong demand for home products.”